5 college football running backs you need to know more about

Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2011, thus far hasn’t come close to duplicating last year’s performance.
But just like a great tailback recognizes holes opened by his linemen,
five running backs this year have burst onto the scene in ways that
demand they get their due.

If one man is capable of playing a spoiler’s role, Taylor showed
against USC that he could be your guy. The Trojans went down to Palo
Alto with high hopes of a national championship run (That’s still not
out of the question, by the way). But Taylor, 5-11 and 215 pounds,
stomped on USC with 156 rushing yards. But it wasn’t just the number of
yards; it was the bruising fashion in which he accumulated that
total — relentlessly attacking the USC offense as if Stanford’s season
depended on him, and him alone.

A year ago, Thompson’s season ended abruptly when he suffered a
broken back in a game against Wake Forest. Standing upright, walking
without pain — the things many young athletes take for granted — became his
biggest priority. If, after seeing Thompson take the ball 74 yards for a
touchdown on Sept. 15 against the same team he faced when he was
injured was breathtaking, then how much more amazing was it to see him
turn back around the very next series and take off on an 80-yard score?
Thompson is only 5-8 and 185 pounds. A little guy who gets big props for
coming back with such force.

Let’s review recent star running backs at Georgia, shall we? There
was Isaiah Crowell, kicked off the team after an arrest involving a gun
with a filed-off serial number. He’s now at Alabama State. There was
Washaun Ealey, whose off-field troubles continue even after his
dismissal. The Jacksonville State senior was arrested earlier this month
on drug possession charges. There was Caleb King, who became an
academic casualty. And now there is Todd Gurley, who has been a deep,
cleansing breath of fresh air for the Bulldogs. The true freshman,
through the first three games, was averaging nearly 10 yards a carry.
Twice he’d reached 100 yards rushing. The longer and better and stronger
he runs, the more distance Gurley puts himself from those past UGA
running back disappointments.

The Bruins are in headlines and in front of cameras. And it’s all
good. For too long, everything about UCLA football was bad news, all the
losing making the scene a big downer. In comes first-year coach Jim
Mora, a sweet surprise in quarterback Brett Hundley and, as much as
anything, the production of Franklin. After three games, Franklin was
leading the country in rushing with an average of 180.3 yards per game.
Lest you think it all came against an inferior opponent (He rushed for
214 against Rice), Franklin piled up 217 yards against Nebraska and
another 110 vs. Houston. He also has eight catches for 121 yards.

The Huskers lost starter Rex Burkhead in the season-opener when he
went down with a knee injury. Burkhead will still make a contribution
this year, but in his absence, Abdullah has showcased his own ability.
The sophomore saw some playing time as a freshman last season and has
become a critical piece of the ‘Huskers efforts now. He is among the top
backs in the nation, averaging about six yards a carry. If you think
Nebraska has been a disappointment so far, imagine what it would be
without Abdullah.